Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 Winners, Losers of the 2019 NFL Draft

Loser: Cairo Santos

The ink is still fresh on Cairo Santos’ one-year contract extension, and yet the Buccaneers drafted a kicker in the fifth round of the draft over the weekend. With Matt Gay being a fifth round investment, it looks unlikely for Santos to win the job as Tampa Bay would now be forced to eat dead money if Gay were to be cut.

Santos did his job, nothing more and nothing less, when he signed mid-season to assume the kicking duties for the Buccaneers. In 2019, Santos made nine of his 11 attempts in the pewter and red after filling in for the Los Angeles Rams while their starting kicker was recovering from an injury.

As much as the coaching staff may come out and say the kicking battle will be a competition in camp, the writing is on the wall when a fifth round and the stipend/guaranteed money of that allotted draft slot is taken into consideration. Santos was only given $195,000 dollars guaranteed at signing, a much smaller number to part with for the Buccaneers.

The 27-year-old kicker is more than likely headed for his sixth team after the selection of Gay. The Buccaneers love to draft kickers, and in this case, it will cost Santos his job.